Ancient Magic:
Magic from Before the Dawn of Time?

by Steve Vander Ark

A comparison is inevitable between the Old Magic of the
Harry Potter universe and the Magic From Before the Dawn of Time from
C. S. Lewis's
Narnia books. Clearly
there are similarities between the two, although they are not identical.

Both the Harry Potter and the
Narnia versions serve
as a stronger, more intrinsic form of magic than the common everyday variety
which is cast as spells from books or by wands.
This ancient kind of magic is, in a sense, built into the very fabric of
reality. It manifests itself from the true, heart-felt actions of people and
cannot be manipulated to ends other than those to which it is intended.
Lily sacrifices herself for her son and
the result is a protection stronger than the curse of death itself. This is
almost a Christ image, but almost certainly Rowling did not intend it
specifically as such, since she is not writing an allegory.

Lewis is writing
an allegory, however, which means that his brand of Old Magic certainly
does stand for something else in his Christian world view. He tells of
a reality where there is a clear Other Place and Time, representing the
realm of God, and it is from this source that his most powerful magic comes.
Aslan sacrifices himself as payment for Edmund's treachery and as a result
Aslan is reborn stronger than ever. This is clearly a Christ image and
the magic which makes it possible just as certainly is God's power. With
Lewis, this
connection is intentional.

In Rowling's fictional reality, there is no Other Place and Time. Magic is
not a mystical, channeled power from some occult or supernatural source.
It's completely, utterly mundane in the truest sense of that word. It is
just as simple and common and even boring as the wheel and the inclined
plane and electric circuits are to us. Even the Old Magic, while impressive
and powerful, is no more than simply magical technology at its strongest and
most advanced. And this difference between
Narnia and the world of
Harry Potter is critical to any comparison between the two series.

In each, magic is used by both good and evil characters. In each there are
spells and potions and wands and spell books, all
the trappings of classic fairy tale magic. Both series portray magic as
inherently neutral and show that people make the choice of how magic will be
used. It is in both books the responsibility of the person casting the spell
to make sure that the motives are good. And magic in both series can be used
for terrible, terrible evil. But in the
Narnia books, magic is a
manifestation of supernatural power. The ancient magic, then, is an allegory
for the God revealing himself and his intentions through his creation, which
is sometimes referred to as "general revelation." Aslan can be
resurrected because the plan of salvation is written into the very fabric of
Creation.

In the Harry Potter universe, magic has no supernatural source. The
old magic, then, is not some kind of connection to or image of an inherent
personality in that universe, it is just an integral, unavoidable part of
the fabric of reality. But it does reflect the inherent morality of that
world, an inherent assumption of what's right and what's wrong. There is
power, in the Harry Potter universe, in doing the right thing. There is
power in self-sacrifice. There is power in the ties of family. There is even
power in death--no magic spell can raise the dead, after all--and it is
against all of these powerful things which
Voldemort battles. The
Dark Lord's concept of ultimate
power is to break the rules of the universe. He seeks immortality itself.
What he fails to realize is that ultimate power only comes from allowing
the built-in power of the universe to flow unimpeded. In every way,
Harry does this, from his family ties to
his self-sacrificial actions. Harry even
cheated death, but not through grotesque manipulations or twisted
Dark Magic, but by means of the very powers
Voldemort fights against.
Harry was saved by love.

Ancient magic in the Harry Potter universe is not
Magic from Before the Dawn of Time. But both reflect the basic goodness and
morality of the worlds in which they appear.